Welcome to “Toy Soldiers for Old Gits” or what we call TSOG! This is a place where three actually four regular guys henceforth known as the Old Gits will ramble on about all scales of Toy Soldiers, various War Game Rules, record their AAR’s and comment on all manner of other war gaming stuff in general. Should be fun for every war gamer on the Inter Web...hmmm do people still say that? Anyway read on and enjoy!

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

Battle of Quatre Bras - Blucher AAR

Well we've played our second Napoleonic game using Blucher rules, the Battle of Quatre Bras. We repeated history with the French being forestalled and the Allied army securing a victory by holding the vital crossroads.

We played with a couple of 'house' variations on the rules:

Units retained hidden/concealed status when activated as long as they stayed over 8 BWs from the enemy or closer than that but out of the enemy's line of sight (don't retain reserve movement).

Artillery units remained on the table when they reached their last ammo value and were able to continue firing at that rate, the player still retained the option to retire them if they wished.Both sides
victory conditions were:

Breaking
the enemy army

OR

Occupying Quatre
Bras, Gemioncourt & Thyle at the end of the game (in red on map below)

The initial set up Neys troops in the foreground with Quatre Bras in the (far) distance! Its 2:00pm let the battle begin!

The French IInd Corps lines up to take on the 'lonely' 2nd Butch Division holding Gemioncourt Farm.

Their infantry repulsed from Gemioncourt farm the French cavalry deploy to their left to outflank the Allied forces. Top centre of the pictureconcealed is the Merlens Cavalry, Kempt & Bests Infantry Brigades heading to Thyle. In the top right BachelusInfantry Division is advancing on the same objective!

The Duke of Brunswick deploys Buttlars infantry and Cramms Cavalry to block the French advance on Quatre Bras as a brigade from the 2nd Dutch Division withdraws.

The face off in the vicinity of Thyle.

Foys Division in the centre attack Gemioncourt again! To their right Jeromes infantry Division are attempting to attack Gemioncourt while covering Merlens cavalry just out of picture. To Foys left the French cavalry charged with varying degrees of success!

5:00pm Wellington and more Allied reinforcements arrive around to support the Brunswick troops in their battle with the French horsemen.

With the 'fate of France' in his hands Foy captures Gemioncourt!

Hubers horsemen ignoring Packs Brigade in Quatre Bras routes Kielmansegge Brigade but it leaves them isolated (sort of replicating Guitons Cuirassiers actual charge in the battle they hammered two Allied brigades and reached Quarte Bras but were left in a dangerous position)! Wellingtons command retinue is in the foreground of the pictured...

The face off at Thyle continues!

The French cavalry are spent, both of Pires brigades have been dispersed, the French artillery battery is running low on ammunition and Foys men at Gemioncourt now face the resurgent Allies freshly reinforced with the British Guards Division...Merde!

A final attack by BachelusInfantry on the French left results in disaster! Hitting on 4's with three dice they got TRIPLE ONE! they got zero hits to the Allies four...lucky an attacking unit can only take a maximum of two losses!

The centre of the battlefield at the end of the game, Halketts brigade has retaken Gemioncourt and is supported by four more brigades two of which are the fresh British Guardsmen! Ney in the foreground to the right now has Lefebvre-Desouettes Guard Light Cavalry Division on hand to assist in halting the allied counter attack!

As a group we enjoy these rules and are going to revisit the Battle of Raab scenario soon to ensure we have our heads around them and the best tactics for the period. Personally I think given the balance of 'playabililty' vs realism Blucher gives gamers a set of rules that allows large battles to be recreated in a reasonable amount of time...